Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Faculty

Meet Our

Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Faculty

  •
    Associate Professor, Chair of Architecture and Environmental Design
    Horticulture

    Sasha W. Eisenman, PhD

    • Email: eisenman@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-468-8168
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Dixon Hall 101/Tyler, ARCH 204

    • Sasha Eisenman is a botanist and horticulturist with a diverse portfolio of research projects. Currently, his primary area of research is on the survival, health and ecophysiological responses of plants in green infrastructure systems (tree trenches, bioswales and rain gardens). 

      In addition to green infrastructure, his other areas of research are Central Asian medicinal plants, rare and endangered plant species, the history of botany and horticulture, botanical nomenclature and pollination biology in the genus Salvia L. 

      He is co-author and lead...

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  •
    Associate Professor of Instruction, Program Head of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and Curriculum Coordinator of Graduate Landscape Architecture
    Landscape Architecture

    Kate Benisek, MALD, MLA, ASLA

    • Email: kate.benisek@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-468-8186
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Dixon 206 and Main Campus, Architecture 213

    • Kate Benisek is a landscape architect, civic ecologist and urban horticulturist. Kate is an environmental educator who teaches undergraduate courses offered as part of the General Education program, undergraduate design studio courses and the graduate-level "Wetland/Riparian Design Studio."
       
      Kate worked as a landscape designer with the Charles River Watershed Association in Boston, Massachusetts, where she contributed to community and municipal planning and urban design projects that focused on the development of stormwater management initiatives for a regional...

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  •
    Associate Professor of Research
    Horticulture

    Joshua Caplan, PhD

    • Email: jcaplan@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-468-8191
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Dixon Hall 108A

    • Josh Caplan is an environmental biologist who studies plant and soil dynamics in human-modified settings. With most of his work, he seeks to understand how plants and soils respond to environmental extremes (for example, in salinity, soil moisture, and nutrients). Often, he is interested in determining how their responses affect larger-scale processes like water fluxes, carbon cycling, and plant invasion. Some of his research also investigates ways that plants themselves alter soil and how engineered soil media could be modified to be more effective or sustainable. Josh’s fieldwork takes...

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  •
    Associate Professor and Curriculum Coordinator
    Landscape Architecture

    Nathan Heavers

    • Email: nathan.heavers@temple.edu
    • Phone: 202-302-7951
    • Website: https://heavers.myportfolio.com/home-1

    • Nathan Heavers is an ecological designer with a background in horticulture and visual arts. He researches the diverse ways that humans manage, cultivate, and design forests. Currently, Nathan is working on an urban forestry management plan for the George Washington Memorial Parkway under the direction of the National Park Service and in collaboration with Virginia Tech. This project explores his broader research interests in adaptive forest management strategies in response to climate change and the tensions between...

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  •
    Associate Professor
    Landscape Architecture

    Rob Kuper, PLA

    • Email: rkuper@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-468-8179
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Bright Hall 101B
    • Website: https://sites.temple.edu/rkuper/

    • Rob Kuper teaches undergraduate and graduate landscape architecture design studio and engineering courses. Between 2012 and 2020, he co-directed design-build studio course projects that received almost 40 awards. Recently, Rob has taught the sophomore design and 3rd-year graduate capstone restoration design project studios. In landscape engineering, Rob teaches grading, stormwater calculations, layout methods, construction detailing, and building materials and methods. 

      Rob’s current research focuses on the climate crisis. In particular, he has studied travel-related carbon...

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  •
    Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture
    Landscape Architecture

    Baldev Lamba, MLA, RLA, ASLA

    • Email: blamba@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-337-3195
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Dixon Hall 107
    • Website: www.lambaassociates.wordpress.com

    • Baldev Lamba has more than three decades of experience working as an Architect and Landscape Architect in India, the Middle East and the United States. Lamba’s award-winning projects include the First Ladies Water Garden on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; the Campus Design Competition in India; Hansell Park in Buckingham, PA; and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s Pop-Up Garden in Philadelphia, PA. Lamba’s notable accomplishments also include the Excellence in Research and Creative Work Award from the Council of Educators in Landscape...

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  •
    Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture
    Horticulture, Landscape Architecture

    Michael Olszewski, PhD

    • Email: michael.walter.olszewski@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-468-8182
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Dixon Hall 205

    • Michael Olszewski is an expert in horticultural substrates and seed germination. He has practiced as both a plant biologist and scientist before joining Temple’s faculty. 

      His extensive research has generated several publications, including entries in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, HortScience, HortTechnology, Journal of Environmental Horticulture, Seed Science & Technology, Compost Science and Utilization, and Horticulture, Environment and Biotechnology (HEB). He is a member of the American Society for Horticultural...

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  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Cynthia Ahern

    • Email: tuc74208@temple.edu

    • Cynthia Ahern is a naturalist who focuses on interrelationships between plants and animals in natural and manipulated environments. She creates landscapes featuring native plants with high nutritional value for pollinators and other wildlife. Her interests and research include quantifying Salvia nectar for hummingbirds, boreal plant communities, native plant communities and sustainable cultivation of food crops.

      BS Hort, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

      • Tyler Certificates in Landscape Plants and Environmental Sustainability
  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Vincent Aloyo

    • Email: vincent.aloyo@temple.edu
    • Website: www.vincemasterbeekeeper.com

    • Vincent Aloyo is an Eastern Apiculture Society-certified Master Beekeeper and Principal at Aloyo Apiculture and Education, which focuses on all aspects of apiculture, such as honey production, queen rearing and nuc production, as well as education in any facet of apiculture.

      Postdoc, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
      PhD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
      MS, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
      BS, Cornell University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Joni Baumgarten

    • Website: www.jonibaumgarten.com

    • Joni Baumgarten is a soil and plant ecologist who studies the interaction of soil and plant communities and the way that soil communities facilitate plant diversity.

      Rutgers University, Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution; New Brunswick, NJ
                   PhD received October 2020                                             
       
      Barnard College, Columbia University; New York, NY
                   Bachelor of Arts received October 2008
                   Major: Environmental Science    

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Michael Coll

    • Email: tuf82974@temple.edu

    • Michael Coll has managed landscapes in southeastern Pennsylvania for the past 12 years. His focus is the restoration of native ecosystems to facilitate biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. Currently Michael lives on and manages Hildacy Preserve for the non-profit Natural Lands.

      MES, University of Pennsylvania
      BFA, Kutztown University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Anthony Croasdale

    • Tony Croasdale has made fostering ecological literacy his life's work. He is the director of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center and the co-host of the Urban Wildlife Podcast.

      BS Hort, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

  • Adjunct Instructor
    Landscape Architecture

    Jesse Forrester

    • Email: jesse.forrester@temple.edu
    • Phone: (267) 847-1726

    • Jesse Forrester is a 2004 alum of Temple University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in landscape architecture.

      His professional career began at the Olin Partnership (now Olin) working on the Mill River Park and Greenway, Bethel Performing Arts Center, and UC Berkeley Memorial Stadium. He then spent over a decade at Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects, managing high-end residential landscape projects, the Longwood Gardens Meadow Garden, and various parks, campus and hospital landscapes.

      He started his own practice in 2021 designing private gardens, hospital grounds, and landscapes for small-scale high-density multifamily residential developments. In 2015, he began teaching landscape design at the Barnes Arboretum’s horticulture certificate program before moving on to teaching at Tyler in 2019.

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Mark Gallagher

    • Mark Gallagher is a restoration ecologist and vice president of Princeton Hydro, where he focuses on his favorite project types: ecological restoration and green infrastructure. He is especially interested in urban restoration.

      MS, Rutgers University
      BS, Moravian College

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Erik Karlsson

    • Email: erik.karlsson@temple.edu
    • Website: www.karlssonrla.com

    • Erik Karlsson is a landscape architect, planner and educator with more than 25 years of experience. He is the owner of C. Erik Karlsson, RLA, a landscape architecture design firm offering site, urban, environmental and community design and planning.

      MLA, University of Pennsylvania
      BS, University of Delaware

  • Adjunct Associate Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Michael LoFurno

    • Email: mlf4545@temple.edu

    • With over 35 years of experience as a registered landscape architect and active participant in the horticultural and botanical communities, Michael LoFurno is committed to environmentally responsible design and thoughtful planning. Driving his approach to landscape architecture are a respect for materials and the ways they can be employed to create meaningful and inspiring places.

      BSLA, Pennsylvania State University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Kevin Reis

    • Kevin Reis is the founder of NativeScapes, LLC, which provides ecological consultation and landscape design services that include exotic invasive plant species removal and planting plan design and installation. They have designed and installed rain gardens, streambank restoration projects and perennial gardens for residential and non-profit organizations.

      MLArch, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
      BES, Evergreen State College

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Kathleen Salisbury

    • Email: kathleen.salisbury@temple.edu
    • Website: https://ambler.temple.edu/arboretum/about-ambler-arboretum

    • Kathy Salisbury enjoys the wonder of hands-on horticulture and sharing the experience with others. As director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, she creates connections between people and plants, building an understanding that access to nature is essential and must be protected for everyone.

      MS, University of Delaware
      BS, Delaware Valley University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Peg Schofield

    • Email: margaret.schofield@temple.edu

    • Peg Schofield is an educator and registered horticultural therapist in the Philadelphia region. She presents workshops and horticultural therapy sessions, working with individuals dealing with PTSD, stress-related illnesses and those coping with grief experiences.

      MA, Villanova University
      BA, Marywood University
      BAS, Temple University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Nathan Shampine

    • Nathan Shampine is the natural lands manager of the Mt. Cuba Center—a 530-acre botanical garden in Delaware’s Appalachian Piedmont that is critical to preserving the integrity of the remaining natural habitats of this physiographic region in Delaware.

      BS, State University of New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry
      AAS, Finger Lakes Community College

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Erin Smith

    • Email: erin.smith0001@temple.edu

    • Erin Smith works in the land stewardship department for the region’s leading land conservation organization, Natural Lands. She is able to bring her hands-on experience in environmental restoration and natural resource management practices to the classroom.

      MLArch, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
      BSBA, Slippery Rock University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Benjamin Snyder

    • Email: benjamin.snyder@temple.edu
    • Website: tyler.temple.edu/greenhouse

    • As manager of the Greenhouse Education and Research Complex at Temple University, Ambler, Benjamin Snyder oversees the use and care of various educational horticulture features, including a tropical greenhouse collection, organic food production garden and seasonal outdoor displays. His primary interests focus on controlled environment horticulture, including plant production and ex situ plant conservation in an educational setting.

      BS, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Stephen Souza

    • Owner of Clean Waters Consulting, LLC and founder of Princeton Hydro, LLC, Stephen J. Souza has over 35 years of project experience managing and restoring aquatic ecosystems and implementing green infrastructure stormwater management solutions. Among his numerous awards is the New York State Federation of Lake Associations' Lake Tear of the Clouds Award, the New York State Federation of Lake Assocation's highest honor.

      PhD, University of Connecticut
      MS, Rutgers University
      BS, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Eric Tamulonis

    • Email: eric.tamulonis@temple.edu

    • Eric Tamulonis is a landscape architect in private practice as founder of PARRICUSdesign and former partner at WRT and principal at OLIN. In 40 years of practice, his work has focused on public open space and academic campus planning and design, and has been recognized with a number of awards, including ASLA National Honor Awards for both The Parklands of Floyds Fork in Louisville KY and Red Mountain Park in Birmingham AL.

      BSLA, Pennsylvania State University 

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Judy Venonsky

    • Judy Venonsky passionately pursues the intersection of ecology, art and science. She is a practicing Landscape Architect and Associate at OLIN where she spearheads the Eco Lab research team, infusing design excellence with emerging knowledge of complex ecological webs.  

      MLArch, University of Pennsylvania
      BA, Moore College of Art & Design

  • Adjunct Professor
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Bess Wellborn-Yates

    • Email: bess.wellborn@temple.edu

    • Bess Wellborn Yates is particularly interested in sites with complex histories and their intersection with community-based design initiatives and urban ecological restoration. She teaches landscape design studios, courses related to urban trees and greening, as well as the history of landscape architecture.

      MLA, University of Virginia School of Architecture
      BA, Geology Wellesley College

  •
    Associate Professor Emerita
    Landscape Architecture

    Pauline Hurley-Kurtz, MLA, RLA, ASLA

    • Email: phurleyk@temple.edu
    • Phone: 267-468-8187
    • Office: Ambler Campus, Dixon Hall 207

    • After 33 years of service, Associate Professor Pauline Hurley-Kurtz retired in December 2023, having started as an instructor in 1990 and working her way up to chair of the Landscape Architecture program in 2015.

      Hurley-Kurtz is a registered landscape architect with expertise in the design of memorials and healing gardens. She was the design landscape architect for the award winning Irish Great Hunger Memorial in Philadelphia, a garden of remembrance that includes elements of the Irish and Piedmont landscapes, and a monumental sculpture by Glenna Goidacre. Hurley-...

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  • Professor Emerita
    Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

    Mary Myers, PhD, RLA, ASLA

    • Email: mary.myers@temple.edu

    • Mary Myers is a registered landscape architect whose years in practice inform her teaching, research and outreach. She is the author of Andrea Cochran: Landscapes, and co-author of the anthology Sustainable Design. She has also served as President of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA)—a national and international organization for landscape architecture professors—and was honored with the designation of CELA Fellow in 2010. An avid proponent of using science as a basis for design, she spearheaded development of Tyler's Master of Landscape Architecture program with a concentration in Ecological Landscape Restoration.

      PhD, Heriot Watt University/Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland
      MLA, Harvard University
      BSLA, University of Wisconsin
      AA, Finch College

  •
    Professor Emerita
    Landscape Architecture

    Lolly Tai, PhD, RLA, FASLA

    • Email: lollytai@temple.edu
    • Website: https://sites.temple.edu/lollytai/

    • Lolly Tai is a licensed landscape architect whose work is focused on sustainable landscape design. Tai’s experience includes a wide range of landscape architectural design projects of varying scope and scales. She incorporates innovative technologies of best management practices, green infrastructure and forward-looking strategies into her classroom projects. Tai’s courses include design studios, research design methods, computer graphics, materials and methods of construction and site engineering.
       
      Tai’s research emphasis is on designing spaces that afford children the...

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